STICK FIGHTING TECHNIQUES THAT MAKE SENSE!
Stick fighting or stick-fighting is a form of combat where practitioners use hand held wooden sticks (often called kali or escrima sticks) to fight each other. Stick fighting is actually a nonspecific term referring to the various weapon based martial arts styles that use stick combat in their systems.
Believe it or not but there are many different martial arts that practice various forms of stick fighting. For example, "intonga" is an ancient stick combat martial art practiced in South Africa. There is also the French stick fighting martial art called "Canne de combat" as well as many others. However, the most popular stick fighting arts can be found in the Filipino Martial Arts systems (or FMA). They include:
- Kali
- Arnis
- Modern Arnis
- Escrima
Stick Fighting Self Defense
Fighting with sticks might seem like a primitive and ancient form of combat but it actually has a lot of importance for modern reality based self defense. Actually, stick combat offers numerous benefits for the practitioner and it's an essential component of my Contemporary Fighting Arts self defense system.
The Benefits of Training
As I stated previously, stick fighting skills are important for modern day self defense applications for the following two reasons.
- Using a Stick to Protect Yourself - When used correctly, a forceful stick strike can be a very effective self defense weapon. Generally, stick strikes can cause severe blunt-force trauma injuries. Sticks are also ubiquitous and can be readily employed in many self defense situations. Fighting with sticks will give you the skills necessary to use the weapon effectively and efficiently under a variety of combat situations.
- Defending Against a Stick Attack - There is always the possibility that you can be attacked by a stick wielding criminal. Stick combat actually teaches you about the weapon’s
strengths, weaknesses and limitations. This information is vital if you are going to effectively defend against the weapon or perform a stick disarming technique.
"Fighting with sticks might seem like a primitive and ancient form of combat but it actually has a lot of importance for modern reality based self defense training."
Sparring with Sticks
One of the best ways to sharpen and improve your stick fighting skills and techniques is through regular sparring exercises also called "stick sparring." To accomplish this you will need a skilled and trustworthy training partner, lightweight rattan sticks and lots of protective gear. You will also need a room that will allow the both of you to move around freely without running into windows, doors or other objects.
The Kali Stick
As I mentioned earlier, you will need a good pair of rattan sticks (also called kali sticks) to spar with your training partner. This weapon is approximately 26 inches in length and is relatively slender. It is hard, yet lightweight, durable and inexpensive.
Most importantly, the rattan stick is also safer than wood because it does not splinter on impact. It simply frays and shreds apart. This is especially important when performing full contact stick combat techniques with your training partner. Kali sticks allow the fighters to engage in full contact training, however protective gear (i.e., fencing masks, hand protection, arm and elbow pads, throat and chest protectors, groin cup, etc) must be worn at all times.
"The kali stick is approximately 26 inches in length and is relatively slender. It is hard, yet lightweight, durable and inexpensive."
How to Hold a Kali Stick
There is a right way and wrong way to hold a kali stick when stick sparring. Knowing the difference can save your life! When
holding your rattan stick, always allow enough room (approximately one fist length) on the
bottom portion of your weapon. First, when you hold your kali stick in this fashion,
it actually converts one stick into two
weapons useful weapons. The end portion can now be used for butting techniques at close quarter
combat range. Second, it provides greater leverage which improves your impact power. Third, it significantly enhances your weapon
retention when fighting.
A moderate amount
of pressure should be applied when gripping your rattan stick. Grasping your
kali stick too tightly when fighting can be problematic because it will tire your hands and cause unnecessary cramping. Your stick strikes
will also be telegraphed and the speed and power of your strikes will be significantly
reduced.
"There is a right way and wrong way to hold a kali stick when fighting. Knowing the difference can save your life!"
The Stick Fighting Ranges
There are three separate distances of stick combat that must be completely mastered. They
include:
Long Range Stick Combat - this is the furthest distance of stick fighting where you can only strike your assailant's hand with your rattan stick.
Mid Range
Stick Combat - this is the intermediate stick fighting range where you can strike your assailant's head, arms and
body with your stick.
Close Quarter Stick Combat - this is the third
and final distance of stick fighting where you can strike your assailant with the butt of
your weapon and you can employ a variety of elbow, knee and head butt strikes.
"After teaching thousands of students over the course of 28 years, I've discovered that most people either love or hate stick sparring."
Stick Fighting Techniques
What follows
is a list of stick fighting techniques from
my book, 1001
street fighting secrets. It is my hope that you can employ these
techniques to improve your odds of winning a stick fight. When you are
done reading these guidelines,
you might want to also look at my street
stick fighting DVD.
KEEP
YOUR STICK MOVING
When fighting with sticks, always keep your
stick moving. This
is important for the following reasons:
- It prevents inertia from setting
in during combat.
- It enhances the overall velocity of your strikes.
- It minimizes
weapon telegraphing, especially prior to striking with your stick.
- It enhances your defensive reaction
time.
- It minimizes your hand and digit exposure when fighting.
- It significantly
enhances stick fighting offensive flow
- It makes your assailant misjudge the range of your stick.
STICK
FIGHT FROM DIFFERENT POSITIONS
There
are nine general stick combat positions that you and your adversary can engage. They
include the following:
- Both you and your assailant are
in the prone position.
- You are kneeling and your assailant is prone position.
- Your assailant
is kneeling and you are prone position.
- Both you and your assailant are kneeling.
- You are standing and your assailant is prone.
- Your assailant is standing
and you are prone.
- You are standing and your assailant is kneeling.
- Your assailant is standing and you are kneeling.
- Both you and your assailant
are standing.
"The Filipinos weren't the only ones who perfected the art of stick combat. As a matter of fact, the South African Zulu warriors were deadly stick fighters."
USE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FIGHTING STICKS
If you want to improve your overall stick combat skills, its important to have
your and your training partner practice with a wide range of sticks. If your finances permit you, workout with: long sticks, short sticks, light sticks, heavy sticks, balanced sticks, unbalanced sticks,cumbersome sticks, makeshift
sticks, wooden sticks, and metal sticks.
KNOW YOUR FOUR DEFENSIVE OPTIONS
During a stick fight, you only have four possible defensive options. Make certain you can execute all four
of these responses with ease and efficiency when fighting with rattan sticks.
- Evasion - you can move
out of the angle of the stick attack.
- Deflection - you can deflect the stick attack.
- Block - you can block the oncoming stick attack.
- Striking - you can strike
the opponent's weapon hand with your own stick.
 |
Even with the use of protective equipment, sparring with kali sticks can lead to injuries. Always have a trained instructor present when working out and training. |
PRACTICE BOTH SINGLE AND DOUBLE STICK DRILLS
The
only real way to improve your stick combat skills is to regularly engage in
a variety of different drills. These exercises can be performed
with either one or two rattan sticks at the same time. That's right! Two sticks at the same time (also know as double stick training).
Now, I'm the first to state it's highly unlikely that you will be faced with a situation where you will fight a criminal adversary with two sticks in your hands. Perhaps in a Rambo movie but not in a real world self defense situation. So why is it important to practice fighting with two sticks (also called double stick training) at the same time? Well, the following list will show you just how beneficial it can be for the aspiring martial artists and self defense technician.
- Improve your overall self confidence.
Improve your mental and physical speed.
- Increase the power of
your arm blows.
- Minimize overall telegraphic movements in your body mechanics.
- Improves your eye-hand
coordination.
- Improve your ability to adapt to weapon attacks from unpredictable angles.
- Refine and enhance your ability to move in combat.
- Develops and sharpens your sense of timing.
- Teach you range specificity.
- Reinforces your sense of target recognition.
- For more information about using stick fighting drills to improve your overall fighting performance, see my street
stick fighting DVD.
"The most advanced levels of stick sparring occur when you can harmoniously integrate the fighting stick with your natural body weapons in any of the three combat ranges. While this may sound elementary to some martial artists, I can assure that it is not."
PRACTICE STICK FIGHTING EVERYWHERE
Practice
stick fighting in a variety of different environments,
terrains, locations and positions. Some challenging locations include: doorways, hallways,
on the stairs, ascending a hill, descending a hill, on top of a car, in
a ditch, on a bridge, under a bridge,
standing in the water, in the snow, in the mud, in the sand, in tall grass,
in between shrubbery, between tress and branches, in the kneeling position,
and in the prone position. Be careful when stick sparring in unstable terrains and environments. Make certain you are being supervised by a qualified stick fighting instructor.
DON'T THRUST YOUR KALI STICK
Avoid performing thrusting
motions when stick fighting. Thrusting your kali stick can be
risky for the following reasons:
- When the tip of your stick makes contact with a hard body target, it will put tremendous strain on your wrists which can lead to a severe sprain or possible break.
- You can lose your kali stick when impacting with a strong
surface area.
- Stick thrusting motions simply lack neutralizing power.
- Thrusting
motions with a rattan stick should be used sparingly and only under
certain combative circumstances. Generally, thrusting motions
should be used when knife fighting.
Good luck in your training!
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